Thandika Mkandawire
18 April 2008
(Page 2 of 2)
Count for nothing
To this long list of deceits and hypocrisies, we must add that elected officials are sometimes for sale.
The intent and practice of such corruption involve the secret making of the votes of large sections of the population - often the majority - count for nothing, as results ultimately reflect the interests of narrowly constituted cabals.
Closely related to this way of choosing voters is one-party-rule, which makes political diversity meaningless by declaring that the only voters that count are those, supporting the candidate of the one party.
In another well-tested approach - though one that has yet to work in Africa - voters elect a puppet candidate, a front for the "real" ruler who works behind the scenes. One spectacular attempt involves Bakili Muluzi and Bingu wa Mutharika in Malawi. Having failed to change the constitution which would have allowed him to rule for a third term, Muluzi chose instead to push Mutharika's candidacy through the party structures. During the election campaign Muluzi made it clear who would be running the show. Mutharika was allowed no more than two minutes at each rally to present himself. From inauguration day on, however, Mutharika took a different path from that of his predecessors, especially on the issue of corruption; he subsequently rejected the cabinet list that Muluzi had prepared for him. Mutharika was eventually forced to quit the ruling party. This was followed by an attempt to impeach him, and other political woes.
Recourse to such obvious transgressions of reason and morality has been commonplace and unpunished. The process of constructing a common political realm of accountability and social cohesion involves not only setting up the right institutions and drawing up the right constitutions, but also leaders' acceptance of the competitive nature of democratic politics, the moralisation of our political life and the conscientitation of the voters. The problem in Africa is perhaps not so much how we choose our leaders, but what importance our leaders attach to the people's choices.
African youth exhibit remarkable enthusiasm for democracy, and many have died in its defense. If they fail to find efficacious legal avenues for voicing their opinions, then voter lists will be literally written in blood. That is a terrible toll to inflict on society.
The writer is the Director, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva.
Africa Insight is an initiative of the Nation Media Group's Africa Media Network Project.
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